Great Impact Of The Great Lakes

Largely, it is the result of erosion by water at the end of the last glacial period. The most recent glacier over North America, the Laurentide Ice Sheet, resided almost all over Canada. Eventually, the sheet melted, allowing water possessing a strong stream discharge to be released in numerous directions. One of these melt-out pathways formed the Elora Gorge.

It began 2 million years ago, Canada and the upper U.S. were covered in glaciers. All the repeated melting and freezing of the glaciers created thousands of cavities in the Canadian Shield, which were filled with melted glacier water which created the Great Lakes (and many other rivers and lakes). In the west, there used to be a HUGE lake (Lake Bonneville) but it drained into the Pacific Ocean through rivers and dried out

Sand dunes are mounds of windblown sand, which vary greatly in size, from less than one meter to tens of meters high. The size depends upon the supply of sand. Many of the more recognizable dune forms are ridges or complexes of mounds or crescents. The shape of individual dunes is equally variable. Shape relates to the direction and strength of the wind forming it, as well as to the amount of sand available. The impressive sand dunes along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan were created by the prevailing westerly winds blowing the sand deposited along the beaches into the dune

For the first paragraph we shall have a quick focus on the geological history of the area of Kalamazoo. The main deposits and formations of the Kalamazoo area where formed during the Wisconsin glaciation period. Now the deposits are actually due to two lobes during this period, the lobes are the Lake Michigan and Saginaw lobe. Kalamazoo is actually know as a “reentrant district” due to the presence of two different lobes materials. During the middle of the Wisconsin Ice Age the Lake Michigan lobe was extending southeastward, while the Saginaw lobe was extending southwest. With the meeting of the two lobes an interlobate developed between the terminals of the lobes. It is also thought that the two lobes overlapped each other. With the Saginaw lobe covering the Kalamazoo area first and then retreating while the Lake Michigan lobe then covered the area. There are also some bedrock formations in the area as well, these formations were established during

Running water moves sediment in the processes of erosion and deposition, causing different types of landforms. As you can tell in the picture above, Michigan’s topography plays a huge role on where the faster and slower flowing rivers are located and the transportation of the materials in the water depends on the speed of the rivers. Erosion is the breaking down of those materials by the agent, water. The water can erode the channel laterally and vertically, in the end, making the channel wider and deeper. There are different types of erosion: hydraulic action, corrasion, corrosion, cavitation, and attrition. Hydraulic action (above on the right) takes place at rapids and waterfalls because the force of the water removes rock particles from the bed and banks of the river. A great example of this in Michigan is Canyon Falls on the Sturgeon River. At the waterfall, the water is rushing at a high velocity, especially in the spring, causing rock particles to move downstream, creating a wider and deeper river. Eventually the rivers velocity begins to decrease and particles start to deposit. This could also occur because lack of precipitation or an increase in evaporation. The deposition of materials at different locations of the river that they began changes the shape of the river, and effects Michigan as a whole in the end. The particles can travel all the way to the mouth of the river, in this case, Lake Superior, causing

During the Pinedale glaciation, there were two ice sheets. One of them being the Cordilleran Ice Sheet. The Cordilleran Ice Sheet was comprised of three main lobes. The Puget Lobe, Okanogan Lobe, and the Purcell Trench Lobe. The one lobe in Northern Idaho, near present day Lake Pend Oreille, was the Purcell Trench Lobe. When these sheets of glacial ice moved south they caused an ice dam to occur. J.T. Pardee states that “The evidence of icebergs, together with the apparent regency of the lake and the variable height of its surface, connect this lake with the glacial period, and readily lend themselves to the suggestion that its dam was of ice” (Pardee, 1910) This ice dam blocked the Clark Fork River which is near the boundary of Idaho and Montana. The water from the river was blocked and began to build up and formed Glacial Lake Missoula. Water

Lake deposits are primarily fine-grained clay- and silt-size sediments. The most extensive area of lake deposits is in north- ern Ohio bordering Lake Erie. These deposits, and adjacent areas of wave-planed ground moraine, are the result of sedimentation and erosion by large lakes that occupied the Erie basin as Wisconsinan-age ice retreated into Canada. Other lake deposits accumulated in stream valleys whose outlets were temporarily dammed by ice or outwash. Many outwash-dammed lake deposits are present in southeastern Ohio far beyond the glacial boundary. Peat deposits are associated with many lake deposits and formed through the accu- mulation of partially decayed aquatic vegetation in oxygen-depleted, stagnant water.

Out wash has small sediments sorted in layers, and Till has large sediments not sorted into any layers. Till can leave behind features like Kame, Drumlins, and Moraines. Drumlins are elongated hills of till. Drumlins can be found in Central Minnesota and/or South of Brainerd. Moraines are very large ridges of Till. Moraines can be found in West/Central Minnesota. Outwash can leave features behind like Outwash Plains and Eskers. An Outwash plain formed by melt water of a glacier. Outwash plains are important because they are very great for farming which is a huge part of America. Glaciers can leave behind features like Kettle Lakes. Kettle Lakes formed by ice chunks falling off the main glacier, causing an indent on the earth's surface. Then the ice chunk will melt causing the hole to fill up with water. Most of Minnesota’s Kettle lakes are in Moraine/Terminal Moraine

The long history of the formation of the Great Lakes and Michigan start with the impact of glaciers. Throughout history, there have been four major periods where glaciers moved across Michigan, shaping and forming the land. Every time a glacier

A glacier is a large body of ice that moves slowly across land and are formed by there being a higher snow gain rather than a snow melt. Glaciers move by a small amount of ice melting and the glacier sliding. Glaciers can help and destroy the landscape in front of them but they can also shape the land into something amazing. Glaciers were once present in Minnesota thousands of years ago and played a massive role on the landscape we live on today, and as they melted they left behind large amounts of water and formations.

The present configuration of the Great Lakes basin is the result of the movement of massive glaciers through the mid-continent, a process that began about one million years ago. . . . Studies in the Lake Superior region indicate that a river system and valleys formed by water erosion existed before the Ice Age. The Glaciers undoubtedly scoured these valleys, widening and deepening the and radically changing the drainage of the area (Encyclopedia Britannica )

Living around the Great Lakes like we do in Michigan brings a lot of advantages. We have a great amount of water, unlike much of the United States. Water has shaped Michigan to its shape over the past thousands of years. The total area of Michigan is 96,716 miles squared. The total surface of the Great Lakes is 94,250 miles squared. Michigan is surrounded by 4 of the 5 Great Lakes like shown in figure 1. The Great Lakes include Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Erie. Water has shaped Michigan to the shape it is by many different ways. Erosion, transportation, deposition, glaciers, and manmade causes.

Glaciers take part in two of the Earth's cycles hydrology and the rock cycle. When precipitation falls at high attitudes where glaciers exist, the rain or snow becomes a part of the glacier and may be stored in the glacier for up to thousands of years. Glaciers move very slow but are very important in erosion of rocks. (Lutgens & Tarbuck)

This policy memo is addressed to Congressman David Joyce who represents the 14th District of Ohio. Congressman Joyce is a Republican who could be considered a moderate conservative on an ideological scale, meaning that he is about halfway between moderate and far-leaning right (Rep. David Joyce, 2016). Issues that Joyce works toward are the economy and jobs, which is his number one priority, and is also against regulations and taxes. Joyce is heavily involved in energy with a focus on supporting the coal, wind, and natural gas industries, in addition he is against policies that may burden small businesses. The Great Lakes and environment are a priority for Joyce as he wants to protect the Great Lakes, but mainly for economic purposes. Joyce has sponsored three bills that work to protect and/or restore the Great Lakes. He has not been vocal in regards to whether or not he believes in climate change, although his stance toward coal and natural gas would suggest that he may not, although this may be solely to protect Ohioan jobs. Additional issues that he works toward are defense & national security, health care, the national debt, tax reform, veterans, and seniors (Issues & Legislation, 2016).

71 percent of the earth’s surface is made of water. 97 percent of earths water is saline water and not safe for human consumption. This leaves just 3 percent of earth’s water as fresh water most of which is icecaps and glaciers. 68 percent of the fresh water on Earth is found in icecaps and glaciers. 30 percent of fresh water is found in ground water leaving around .3 percent of earth’s water as surface fresh water. Of the .3 percent of surface fresh water the great lakes make up 84% of North America 's surface fresh water and about 21% of the world 's supply of surface fresh water. ("Great Lakes Facts and Figures." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.)